Earth Day Offer from CleanWell

We suffer from eczema in our family. My oldest son has it very badly. We have a hard time keeping it under control. However, by making some changes we are able to manage the outbreaks.

One thing we cannot use the normal, common hand sanitizers sold in most stores. The alcohol in them, which kills the germs, causes my oldest son (and me too) to have an outbreak on contact.

We discovered an all natural hand sanitizer called CleanWell and it has become a staple in our house. Unlike most hand sanitizers CleanWell is 100% natural, 100% green, 100% biodegradable, cruelty free and 100% poison free.

And, for Earth Day, they have an on-line offer that I would like to share with you. They are offering 30% off all products through Friday, April 25th on their on line store. Just use the discount code ED08 upon check out.

This offer is good on line only. However, you can also find CleanWell at Target and WholeFoods stores. Check here for a store near you.

I have not been paid for this, nor did I receive any compensation or free product. I just love this stuff so much and I really believe in it and wanted to share it. I think it's important to limit our children to the number of unnecessary chemicals.

CleanWell smells better than the "alcohol" based products. Not only are they better for the environment, but they are better for your family as well.

Imagine, Build, Play with K'NEX

In our house I'm always looking for toys that will help foster my kids imagination while at the same time grow with them.

To this day, one of their favorite toys is a bucket of wooden blocks Josh got for his first Christmas.

So when I was contacted by Child's Play Communications to review the new spring line up of K'NEX toys, I jumped at the chance. We already had some K'NEX, so I knew the kids would like to see what's new.

We were sent the new Cool Construction case set and a the new Fire Rescue vehicle set. And as luck would have it, my oldest had just been given the Police Rescue Set for his birthday a few days earlier.

The Cool Construction set comes in it's own carry case and enough pieces to build 10 models. The instructions came for five of the vehicles, the other five can be down loaded from their website. Which of course we did.

The vehicles range in complexity from an easy tractor to a difficult back hoe. The instructions are easy to follow and well laid out. The age range on this set says ages 5-7. However, while Josh, age 7, has no problem following the instructions and building the easier models. The more difficult and complex ones he needs help with. This is definitely a toy that will grow with him and adapt to his ability as he gets older.

The Rescue Collection does not come with it's own case, but the pieces fit inside the case we do have.

The instructions for these are also easy and my son had no problems building the fire truck, helicopter, police car and fire boat. The age range on the Rescue Assortment says 5+ and I would agree with that.

One thing we noticed with the K'NEX was the more complex the design, the more fragile the vehicle. However, the blocks do click together better than the other building blocks we have making it harder for less complex models to fall apart.

Something we really like about the K'NEX is you are only limited by your imagination. The boys don't always make the cars and trucks in the instructions, but like to make up their own designs as well.

I really love the carry case all the parts fit in. It makes for easy clean up and storage!

Think Outside The Blocks

There is a new "toy" out on the market now called "Think Blocks" that "teaches thinking skills by getting ideas out of your head and into your hands."

I was sent a set of Think Blocks in exchange for this review and let me tell you, my kids LOVE them!

The blocks are really cool. Each kit is made up of 26 blocks: 2 large blocks, 8 medium sized blocks and 16 tiny blocks.

They are magnetic so they stick to each other. This helps when trying to link ideas and thoughts together. Or, with little kids (like my 3 year old) makes them fun to stack.

They have a dry erase surface so you can write concepts or ideas down and erase them and use over and over to illustrate different ideas. And, again, little kids like to draw on them.

There is one reflective side that looks like a mirror, they can be nested, stacked, clumped, towered or grouped how ever you want.

My three year old is a bit young for some of the concepts that came in the packet as examples, but he loves coloring on the blocks and stacking them up. We used them to help him count.

My seven year old also loves them! He was learning basic fractions at school, so this showed up just in time. We also used it to illustrate money -- the various sizes represented different coins -- and basic multiplication -- we used the little cubes and put them into various groups to illustrate the concept.

The Think Blocks website has lots of videos and testimonials about the product as well as examples of how they can be used in different settings. I watched them all and thought it was well worth it to get a handle on how best to use the blocks.

These really are a cool learning toy. I was thinking how much schools would love these. They would be great for normal classrooms, special education and gifted programs.

And, because they are so versatile, they can be used in classrooms from pre-K all the way up through High School, University and into businesses.

You are really only limited by your imagination with how you can use these.

Blue Silk Cosmetics

Okay, I admit it. I don't wear make up very often or have a "daily skin care" routine.

I know. I'm bad!

And I suffer from very dry skin in the winter time so I really should moisturize. So when I was contacted by Blue Silk Cosmetics to try out their facial moisturizer in exchange for this review, I decided to try it out.

Blue Silk™ is a natural moisturizer formulated without the use of harmful chemical preservatives, fillers, fragrances and emollients. What you put on your skin goes in your skin. Blue Silk™ is a pristine natural, safe and pure addition to your daily regimen.

I've been using this for about a month now and I've had NO problems with dry skin! And February was cold!

This moisturizer goes on lightly; it's not heavy or greasy. All you need is the tiniest bit, applied twice a day. Let me tell you, you will see results. I've been using it twice a day for about a month now and I've only used about a quarter of the jar.

Blue Silk is offering a free 1-week sample of their moisturizer so you can try it out yourself. I highly recommend trying it out!

Cheerios Snack Mix: Yummy and Healthy!

A few years ago my husband's cholesterol levels came back a bit high. Since then, he's really worked hard to get his levels down through diet and exercise.

When he was first looking at his diet, one thing we knew is that oats help to lower cholesterol. Oats contain soluble fiber that can help soak up some cholesterol. The soluble fiber in oats binds some of the cholesterol in your digestive tract thus "trapping" the cholesterol to remove it naturally. Oats contain more soluble fiber than whole wheat, rice or corn. In addition to soluble fiber, oats contain vitamins, minerals and unique antioxidants, which help make oats healthy. Since he's not a fan of "oatmeal" he started eating Cheerios for breakfast. He loves them! And since I have two children who also love Cheerios, it was an easy dietary fix for him.

So when I was asked to do a review of the new Cheerio's Snax Mix by General Mills, I was quick to say "yes please!"

We received a bag of the "Cheese Flavored" and all I can say is YUM! The kids loved it, Rich loved it and I loved it. The snack mix has Cheerios, Chex pieces, pretzels and crackers with a cheddar flavoring.

A 2/3 cup serving has just 120 calories, 3.5 grams of fat (that's 30 calories from fat -- or about 20% of the calories are from fat which is about where it should be), there are 21 grams of carbohydrate (for those watching carb intake) and 3 grams of fiber. And it is expected to retail for about $2.59.

Rich and I feel it is very important to teach the kids good, healthy eating habits now, so they can make good choices when they are not with us. This is a great healthy snack option for kids and adults.

My only problem... My local grocery store doesn't carry it. I have seen it on the shelves at SuperTarget so I will be purchasing more for the whole family to enjoy!

Oh, yeah, and guess what? The diet and exercise program Rich is on has worked. His cholesterol's still not "perfect" but it's better than it was.

PS: Sorry about the "blue" picture! It should be yellow. I couldn't get the high resolution picture to upload! But here's a picture of our crinkled up empty bag!

BabyJamz Review

Before Christmas, I received the BabyJamz DanceMat and BabyJamzCell Phone from Planet Toys in return for this review.

Baby Jamz is a preschool toy line that is meant to "promote creativity, learning and movement through music." Baby Jamz is the brain child of Mathew Knowles (father to Beyonce Knowles). Mathew's daugher Solange is "the voice" of BabyJamz.

The Baby Jamz Cell Phone has two large buttons that when pressed make noise and play hip/hop versions of "Old MacDonald," "1-2 Buckle My Shoe," and "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

The Baby Jamz Dance Mat inspires kids to dance to 36 seconds of classic nursery rhymes such as "BINGO," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and "This Old Man" in hip/hop tempo and there are seven different spots for the kids to step on.

When I opened the box with the toys I took them out and could immediately tell my boys, ages 6 and 3 were too old for these toys. While they are meant for "preschool" aged kids (a category I squarely put Sam into) the cell phone clearly was made for younger kids. Sam did play with it for a bit, but it did not keep his interest long. And I found the "music" and noises a bit annoying.

Since the cell phone was too "young" for my kids, I decided I needed to be a bit creative to test out the dance mat. I brought it to a Mom's Group Christmas party we had. Preschool kids galore! Ranging from newborn to age 4. And lots of them! I had in mind that the kids would play with the mat, I could see how it worked and how they liked it. It would be wonderful.

Well, the mat is pretty. The kids tried to play with it. I tried to help them. I really did.

None of us could figure out how to make it work properly. The kids would come up, try to play and I'd try to help and then they'd just walk away. I really wanted to like this product. It looks like fun! There is a button you press on it and the music starts to play -- and from what I understood the 7 large areas of the mat were supposed to have other sounds and such to "add" to the music. We couldn't get the sounds to work. And 36 seconds was not long enough for
the kids to get into the mat initially. I'm sure when you know what you're doing and if the buttons actually worked, then 36 seconds would be enough, but it was barely long enough for us to press the button and then find buttons to jump on. It was very disappointing.

In the end, I gave the toys to a toy drive for a local charity. Even though it was not to my family's taste doesn't mean someone else wouldn't like them.

Now, there are other products available through the Baby Jamz toy line -- A Key Chain, Boom Box Shapes Sorter and Mix Master Chair. And just because my kids were too old for these toys and the music was not to my taste, doesn't mean that they won't inspire someone else. They are colorful toys. The mat folds up for easy storage and the cell phone had buttons that were very easy for little fingers to press.

Get Foamy

I recently received a complementary sample of Dawn Direct Foam
in the mail. All I have to do is fill out a product card and send it back. I decided to also write a review.

The "Fact Sheet" I got with it says "One pump and a sink full of dishes is done!" I must say, I was skeptical! But like most people I have a dishwasher so I don't really need it to clean a whole "sink full" of dishes for me, but still, I was curious.

The instructions say, "Apply one pump of Dawn Direct foam directly to your moist sponge and start washing." And, "When you think you need more foam, you don't! Just add a little more water directly to your sponge, and squeeze."

Hmmm... That seemed like an awfully tall order! I don't usually wash many dishes by hand, so I don't know if I'll ever really test the "whole sink load" theory. However, I did feel the need to give it a bit of a test over the weekend. The dishwasher was still running and I needed to get the boys dishes done so I put the dish soap to the test!

I didn't have many dishes, but they still needed to be cleaned!

My sink full of clean, hot water. No soap.

I applied ONE PUMP to the sponge they included with my sample. Look how tiny that bit of soap is.

After I put the dishes in the sink and washed just one dish, you can see all the foam from that one pump.

At the end, the dishes were done and there was still enough soap to wash more dishes! I'd say it passed the test with flying colors!

The recommended use is to apply the foam directly to the sponge and then wash the dishes and not fill the sink with soapy water and wash the dishes in it. I did fill the sink with clean water simply because we have a drought here in Georgia and I'm trying to conserve water in anyway possible.

So, did I like the dish soap? Am I convert? Yes. It's very easy to dispense, I don't feel like I'm using too much or too little soap. And it smells really good too!

I also noticed on the Dawn Direct Foam Website, there is a $1.50 coupon available. While Dawn does not set the "prices" of their products, they expect it to sell for about $3.25, and if you don't love it, they have a "Money Back Guarantee." And the bottle that was sent to me has approximately 250 pumps.

One thing we will have to wait and see is how hard it is on my hands. I have terrible eczema that is aggravated by washing my hands, soapy water, etc... Everything a Mom must do 5,000 times a day. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it fares with the eczema, however I think the only thing that will work is for someone else to do the dishes!